「The next day.」
Qin Yang got up early.
He bought two fried dough sticks and a bowl of sweet tofu pudding on the way.
It was a simple solution for breakfast.
Entering the library, Qin Yang went straight to his workstation.
Area 1, on the first floor of the library.
The Jiangcheng Martial Arts Library had three floors in total, with eight areas on the first floor.
The first floor housed some of the most basic Martial Arts Secret Manuals.
The higher the floor, the more profound the Martial Arts recorded there.
However, Qin Yang didn't have the authority to go up to the second floor.
His job was to manage his own little patch of turf.
The two floors above were naturally guarded by the library's powerhouses.
Rows of Martial Arts Secret Manuals were arranged neatly on the shelves.
As a librarian, Qin Yang was naturally free to read these basic Martial Arts Secret Manuals.
Now that he possessed the Cultivation of a Half-step Innate, Qin Yang planned to pick a Martial Art to practice seriously.
That way, if he encountered any danger in the future, he'd have some means to protect himself.
Returning Yuan Palm Technique
Tiger Roar Saber Technique
Luo Family Spear Technique
...
After his gaze swept over the manuals on the shelf, Qin Yang finally picked up a Sword Dao Secret Manual titled "Qingfeng Swordsmanship."
There were many Martial Arts Secret Manuals in the library.
But Qin Yang understood the principle of not biting off more than you can chew.
He wasn't greedy and only chose one Basic Swordsmanship.
As for why he chose Swordsmanship?
No reason other than it was cool!
As a bright young man, Qin Yang naturally harbored a Swordsman's dream in his heart.
Who wouldn't want to roam the world with a sword?
Although he didn't have the strength to roam the world right now, that didn't stop Qin Yang from choosing Swordsmanship.
A heart free of women makes for a divine swordsman.
But Qin Yang didn't have a sword, nor could he practice with one inside the library.
So he could only squat silently in a corner and memorize the Sword Techniques from the manual first.
The original owner of his body had no experience cultivating Martial Arts. Even with his Half-step Innate Cultivation, Qin Yang was still a complete novice.
However, his Half-step Innate Cultivation at least gave him a significant advantage.
At the very least, these basic Martial Arts were not too difficult for him.
It wasn't until noon that Qin Yang stretched lazily and closed the manual in his hands.
Because it was time to eat.
The library had its own cafeteria. The food was quite good, and it was also very cheap.
Qin Yang got a plate of braised pork for less than three coins.
The very definition of a great deal.
"Sigh, when will these days ever end!"
"I feel like I'm going to get depression just staying in this library every day."
While Qin Yang happily ate his braised pork, his other colleagues in the cafeteria looked listless.
"What can we do? Our aptitude sucks. We're destined to be wage slaves for life!"
"Just keep cultivating. If we can break through to the Postnatal Third Realm one day, maybe we can find a decent job."
"Postnatal Third Layer? With my trash aptitude, I'll probably be thirty by the time that happens. I'm afraid I'll only be able to work as a security guard by then."
"Sigh, it can't be helped. Who asked us to be born with poor aptitude? It's the life of a wage earner for us!"
Hearing his colleagues complaining behind him, Qin Yang shook his head.
He sighed internally. 'It seems this world is even harder to get by in than my previous one.'
The strong were respected. Without strength, you were doomed to be at the bottom of society for your entire life.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Qin Yang.
He didn't have any grand ideals or ambitions.
As long as he had food to eat, drink to drink, and could live a good life, that was enough.
Even though he had become a Half-step Innate master, Qin Yang had no intention of changing jobs.
He thought staying in the library was perfectly fine.
First, he had no interest in making money.
He had toiled for decades in his past life. Now that he was reborn, he just wanted to live a peaceful life and "lie flat."
Second, according to the system, this was a Fantasy World.
Having read countless novels in his previous life, Qin Yang naturally understood how terrifying the Combat Value in a Fantasy World could be.
'If I go out and show off, who knows if some Innate Powerhouse might just pop out of nowhere and kill me?'
'The outside world is too dangerous. It's better for me to just stay put in this library.'
A life of fighting and killing was not what Qin Yang wanted.
Third, his cheat ability was too unreliable!
Qin Yang still hadn't figured out what was going on with this cheat ability.
This Half-step Innate Cultivation had also appeared out of nowhere.
Even if he went outside, he had no way to become stronger.
Although the system had raised Qin Yang's Cultivation, his trash-tier aptitude hadn't changed one bit.
His speed of absorbing the Power of Stars was still as slow as a turtle's crawl.
Although he had already reached the Half-step Innate realm and was only half a step away from the Innate Realm, Qin Yang knew in his heart that with his aptitude, crossing that half-step would be fraught with difficulties.
'Forget it. As someone with trash talent, just lying flat is the best way to go.'
Qin Yang couldn't be bothered to think about these things. After finishing the braised pork in his bowl, he went straight back to his workstation and continued reading.
「A month passed in the blink of an eye.」
Every day, Qin Yang did nothing but read books and eat.
Life was exceedingly peaceful.
As for the system, after its last appearance, it had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed at all.
If it weren't for the fact that Qin Yang truly possessed a Half-step Innate Cultivation, he would have suspected whether the system even existed.
Qin Yang had also tried torturing and killing other small animals in an attempt to reawaken the system.
But all his attempts ended in failure.
Left with no other choice, Qin Yang decided to just stop caring about it.
He just went to work and read his books honestly every day.
'This stupid dog of a system, I'm better off without it!'
Qin Yang believed that even without the system, he could still lie flat just fine!
Of course, besides lying flat, Qin Yang also slowly became familiar with his colleagues at the library.
The original owner of the body had a somewhat withdrawn and even insecure personality. He didn't like interacting with people, which resulted in him not being very popular.
But over the past month, thanks to Qin Yang's efforts, his colleagues' impression of him had finally changed for the better.
Some of the female colleagues, in particular, would often steal glances at him, and they even privately gave him the nickname "Library Hunk."
Qin Yang couldn't help but sigh. "Being handsome is such a hassle..."
"Qin Yang, reading again?"
"Come on, it's time to eat!"
A figure suddenly appeared beside Qin Yang and slapped him hard on the shoulder.
Startled while reading, Qin Yang shot the person an annoyed glare. "Could you give a guy some warning next time?"
This person was named Xia He. He was the administrator for Area 2 on the first floor of the library and was a male colleague Qin Yang had gotten relatively close to.
If Qin Yang was forced by life's circumstances to come to the library and lie flat passively, then Xia He had done so actively.
It was said that his family was well-off, and his parents were quite wealthy, making him something of a rich second-generation kid in the library.
It was just that his aptitude was too low, and he was the only child in the family.
His parents didn't want to see him go out adventuring, so they could only let him live off them.
"Hehe, next time for sure, for sure."
Xia He chuckled, slinging an arm over Qin Yang's shoulder nonchalantly.